The Edge of a Coin
by Chet-the-predalien
Summary: Sometimes, certain errors must be corrected for the dead to rest. Sometimes the dead must correct these errors themselves. Inspired by The Karnstein's story.
1. History Lesson

Kain belongs to Crystal Dynamics....I have no idea what Twilight belongs to. Presumably Stephanie Meyer.

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He sacrificed all, his life, his soul, his humanity. He brought a demon older than time to it's knees, drew corruption out of the heart of this world, then called Nosgoth. He may have never been a champion of good, he was never a knight in shining armor, a just and chivalrous hero. In life he was selfish, and vain, and often cruel. He was a vampire, a dead body animated by a soul called forth from it's final resting place. Blood fueled his dark powers, and his spells ripped the souls of his enemies from their bodies, casting them into the gnashing jaws of oblivion. Kain was never a hero of the old tales, he never rescued any damsels or killed any dragons. But after over a year of battling nightmares beyond any mortal's ability to fathom. After drinking the blood of men and women and children alike. After watching his humanity slip and slide into hell with every life he took, he battled a demon. Hash'ak'gik, The Unspoken.

It's body was that of shadow, no blade or claw could gain purchase against it, to do the demon harm. It's iron claws could rend metal and shred the very souls of men, so that it may devour their immortal spirit before crushing their bodies beneath cloven hooves of blackest obsidian. It's eyes were red windows to the very belly of it's hellfire soul, for a man to look into them was to invite madness. The Unspoken had corrupted the Pillars of Nosgoth, ancient artifacts that rose high into the heavens and deep into the ground, and so had infected the land with madness and evil. Kain was never a hero, but Hash'ak'gik had visited ruination upon both him and his homeland, twisted both into bitter parodies of what they had once been. And so he took up his ancient blade, Soul Reaver, and challenged this unspeakable nightmare, this Devil of the Pit. For centuries, men and vampire alike had come up against this demon, but they had all failed. Kain succeeded.

The final blow of struck at midnight, Kain's soul eating blade pierced the shadow's heart, and The Unspoken screamed in torment as his essence was drawn up and devoured by the Soul Reaver. It was finished, Kain's quest to restore Nosgoth and himself was complete, and he could at last be free of the curse of vampirism, as Nosgoth was free of the Curse of Hash'ak'gik. How many hours had he spent skulking in his own Mausoleum? Slinking in the shadows, living in the wild as an animal lusting for human blood? No more, surely this was it. Surely his efforts would be rewarded, or at least, acknowledged?

No. He was asked for yet another sacrifice. The last one, in fact. In order to close the circle, to restore balance he had to give his own life. He had to die, so that Nosgoth could live. He, Kain of Corhagen, Slayer of Hash'ak'gik, The Unspoken. He, who had suffered a year of nightmares, had seen things that would drive lesser men mad, he who had done the unthinkable, killed the unkillable, he who had once commanded armies as a living man and in undeath could command the demons of the night was asked to give up his life, his humanity, and throw away the prize he had earned! He had not seen his wife, his brothers, his father since he had witnessed his own funeral a year before, and yet he was asked to give it all up, throw it all away? Why should he? Why should he pay for other's mistakes? Why should he be the pawn of fate once more? Why?

He accepted the sacrifice without a word of argument.

The last word on his lips was the name of his wife.

Shades cast no shadows.

Kain died as the world's last vampire, for all the others had been slain by the minions of The Unspoken. He died the last hero, because who needed heroes anymore? Evil had been ferreted from the world itself, it's source and master, Hash'ak'gik, destroyed and devoured. Kain's death meant a second chance for the world, it was a sacrifice he was willing to make. Kain's two brothers died old men in their beds, his father was murdered by a political rival, and his beloved wife remarried a month after his death. His wealth, his estate, and even his then unborn sons went to a young Baron. A man who was not as great as he, but still good enough.

Time trudged on. One of his sons died in a war, the other of brain fever, neither had any children of their own. Kain's mortal bloodline was severed. When his wife died, so did his memory, for she had never confided in anyone, not even The Baron, that her twin sons belonged to another man, for not even she was completely sure. No one knew the name of Kain, no one knew of his trails and sacrifices, no one knew that they only lived because he had decided to die.

The Pillars of Nosgoth fell anyway, of their own accord. And a stinking, sparkling, slimy thing crawled out some pit in some primordial jungle and decided that it was a vampire. It multiplied and mutated and changed. Whether or not they could have been considered kin to Kain and his kind is a matter of debate, but they never learned the name of Kain. Nor did they learn of Vorader, a great vampire in his time. Or the mighty Janos Audron, a pure blood vampire who had never even been human, but had always been a creature of the night. No, nor would they have cared, arrogant creatures, these self-proclaimed vampires. Humanity forgot about the pillars, about Hash'ak'gik, and vampires were demoted to laughable pop-culture icons, while sparkly blood drinking bricks crept in the night, full of hubris and mad for blood. The world slid further into corruption, but this time it was corruption of it's own making. Kain's sacrifice has been squandered, his gift has been spat upon.

Thousands of years had passed since that night at The Pillars. Since The Unspoken howled in defeat, since Kain died on his own sword. The world had been granted a second chance, only for it to be wasted.

Kain rises again, this time in a small Town called Forks, Washington.

He will not like what he finds.

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Anyone who's ever wanted to see Kain melt a Sparklepire into a puddle of toxic slime, this fic is dedicated to you guys.


	2. Who?

Legacy of Kain is not mine. Neither is Twilight, which is a real pity as I could use the fucktons of cash.

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Kain had been quite appalled when he discovered that he was no longer dead.

He was slightly less appalled when he deduced that he was buried underground without even the benefit of a burial shroud much less a proper casket, although he was quite frustrated.

His frustration had only multiplied when his hunger drove him to claw his way to the surface.

Cold air assaulted him almost as cruelly as the revelation of his resurrection as the Earth split beneath the cool night sky to reveal the dirt smeared form as Kain, the world's last true vampire, crawled like a newborn babe from the dirt that had sheltered his (at the time) lifeless corpse. Birth metaphors and imagery notwithstanding Kain was neither thankful nor optimistic about his sudden return to life, but to say he was curious would be an understatement. To say he was angry would be a greater one. His mouth opened wide…and kept on opening as his jaws distended and lengthened, four need-like fangs sliding into place with a sickening wet sound as his eyes glowed with a pale light, from his gaping mouth emanated the furious hiss of a great demon who had seen paradise and had been whisked away to return to Hell.

_Who has done this…_thing? He thought to himself, his throat was to dry and hoarse to talk oh how he needed to fee-_Who has done this thing?_

Whether he had been roasting in Hell or relaxing in Heaven had been a moot point. He remembered only…peace. Heaven or Hell, he had been free from the cruelties of the flesh, free from the curse of vampirism _-Is it a curse? Really? Or a blessing?-_ and in the darkness, he had heard her voice, felt the closeness of her soul.

Heaven or Hell, it didn't matter. She had been with him, she had loved him, they had been together… but no more.

They had been together in death, but by returning to the living world, he had been cut off from her.

"Who has done this _thing?" _He demanded to the stars above.

_The Pillars, the Pillars, I must get the Pillars, I must find Ariel. The earth bound spirit of the Pillar Guardian will surely have answers._But then, he remembered that in sacrificing himself, he had healed the corruption of the Pillars of Nosgoth, and thus had saved the world from a slow and ugly death. In doing so, he had released Ariel from her earthly binding, she was now enjoying the peace of death herself.

Kain could have roared in rage, could have cursed fate, but instead he only closed his eyes and laughed.

There was no joy in the sound, only bitter amusement.

How could this be? The question rolled over in his mind, again and again. In the end, the how didn't matter. Only the why. He had been brought back for a reason.

"Mortanius? Old Necromancer, are you out there?" He asked, invoking the name of the undead sorcerer who had raised him as a vampire. He had been a servant of Hash'ak'gik, and his body had destroyed itself to allow The Unspoken to cross into the mortal world. But what was death to a master of the dead?

"Moebious?" The Time Streamer, an ally of the vampire hunters who had driven his race to extinction, Kain had severed his head. But what was death to one who controlled time itself?

"Anyone?" Silence answered him, not the silence of the grave, but the silence of the forest.

He couldn't sense the blood of mortals nearby, only animals.

That didn't mean that nobody was behind his resurrection, only that had not been around to view the results, a wise decision to be sure. The vampire finally found the fortitude to sit up and look around. He was in a forest, one not to dissimilar to the forest surrounding The Pillars, it only made sense that he was nearby but he could not see the Pillars of Nosgoth, not matter which direction he looked. The Pillars rose hundreds of feet into the air, reaching up past the clouds, so high into the clouds that they pierced the sky, no one had ever seen the tops.

He must have been disposed off (Buried seemed hardly the word to describe his interment.) far away from The Pillars, and it occurred to him that even as a child growing up in Coorhagen he had been able to see the massive objects far in the distance. Without even the vaguest hints of the Pillars presence he felt…exposed, unsafe and lost. Or was it more than that? Had something happened to The Pillars in his absence? He had to contact the new members of the Circle of the Nine, the powerful sorcerers and warriors who served and protected The Pillars. He had killed the last Circle in his efforts to cleanse Nosgoth, with The Pillars feted on the souls of their servants, they had surely called new Guardians to take up the old mantles.

Time Streamer, Necromancer, Warrior and Statesman, just a few of the titles granted those who served as The Nine. Or…was it to soon? The Pillars called their Guardians at birth, perhaps the current Circle was nothing more than a gaggle of nine whelps who knew nothing of their destiny. How long had he been dead? Another question that ate at him. Surely not that long for he still wore his Iron Armor, would that not of rusted and rotted away in the Earth of he had been in the ground for so long? But then again the magnificent suit had been forged in the fires of Hell, the red and black chain mail protected him from the swords of Sarafan vampire hunters and the claws of The Unspoken himself.

Questions, questions, and not an answer in sight. Someone was trying to make him a pawn, Kain sensed. Mortaniushad tried to do so, as had Moebious, and in the end Has 'Ak'Gik had tried to use them all. Everyone one of them had tried to manipulate Kain into doing their bidding, and for The Unspoken he had been nothing more than a tiny gear in his great engine of destruction. Every single one of them had died screaming at his hands. Kain allowed himself a smirk at the thought. This new "master" would meet the same fate, but first he had to feed.

Kain reached out with his senses, human blood was preferred, but animal blood would rejuvenate him, buy him time to explore and plan until he could find a proper human meal. Suddenly, a whiff of something delicious tickled his nose. A human girl…young…a virgin, probably had just entered the area. Kain stood, whipping dirt from his face and chest as the scent danced around his nostrils like some high priced whore teasing him with all the promises of the flesh. But promises could break, and the shattered pieces could cut like glass. As carefully as he could manage in his hunger for blood, Kain crept through the damp forest, until he stumbled upon a sickenly beautiful meadow. An illusion, perhaps? Some foul siren trying to snare him as prey? The suspect in question and the source of the tantalizing scent sat just a few feet from him. A brown haired girl, beautiful he supposed, in her own sad little way. She sobbed wildly, wiping tears and snot onto her strange clothing.

"O-oh -E-E-E-Edward…why…did…you…leave…me?" She choked out in between sobs. "AHGUUUUHHHK!"

Kain winced at the horrid sound of her caterwauling. Perhaps his comparison to a siren was a bit premature, a far better creature to compare her to would be a banshee. Still, Kain drew on an illusion of his own. The power of Beguile was a spell he had learned in order to move more easily amid his human prey, it would serve his purposes well here. Kain stepped into the sickening rays of light, feeling them sap his strength. The sun was no friend to him, but determination allowed him to keep up the mask of humanity.

"Child, are you alright?" He asked, forcing the contempt from his voice and adopting the closest thing he could manage to a paternal tone.

Bella Swan stopped her sniveling long enough to look up at Kain, the ancient vampire.

And so it began…

* * *

I like Alice. She's goofy, and Ashly Greene (who plays her in the movies) is a babe. I might let her live long enough to become Kain's vampire concubine.


End file.
